What Are Severe Hives?

Severe hives are also known as chronic hives and are considered any case of hives that lasts longer than 6 weeks. If your hives last less than this time frame, you could simply have acute hives. Severe hives look like swollen patches on the skin, and can be found all over the body. The hives will be pale colored in the middle with a red halo surrounding the welt. Itching and swelling are generally felt along with the welts in severe hives.

What Causes Severe Hives?

Severe hives can be caused by many different factors including medications, stress, depression, temperatures (see cold hives and heat hives), foods (egg whites for my toddler), food additives (like yellow number 5) and even pollen or hay fever and illnesses. If your severe hives are caused by stress or depression, the hives can be cyclic, meaning that they continue to return until the depression or stress is removed from your life and your body’s immune system can return to normal.

Best Treatment For Severe Hives

Severe hives are created when the body comes into contact with something it believes is an allergen. When an allergen is thought to be in your system, your immune system sends out histamines to the area(s). This causes the swelling and itching associated with severe hives. Severe hives can affect any area of the body, and people of all ages.

What Are The Symptoms of Severe Hives?

Severe hives will look like severely swollen patches on any area of the body. Most all cases of severe hives however are seen on the face and tongue where the underneath layers of skin are the most swollen. These swollen sections of skin will most likely itch intensely and may even slight burn in cases of severe hives.

Severe hives are not accompanied by a fever, but can be caused by a fever or illness that causes a fever.

Are Severe Hives Dangerous?

Most severe hives suffers consider hives to be more annoying than dangerous, however a severe hives rash can indeed be deadly if not diagnosed and treated properly! This is especially true if your hives are accompanied by a fever (a sign that your hives are not severe hives), swelling in the throat, wheezing, or shortness of breath. If you find that your hives are causing your breathing to become difficult and labored, you should seek emergency treatment immediately.

How Do I Get Rid Of My Severe Hives?

For the majority of people we recommend a particular hives treatment (OxyHives) that has no harmful side effects and has proven to work at eliminates severe hives. OxyHives is a medication we have suggested to most of our website visitors over the years, as it is the only product we have heard of that actually cure hives without the negative side effects other hives medications have. Please see our hives treatment page for more information.

In only 1-3% of the severe hives cases is a corticosteroid recommended. We are very apprehensive about recommending steroids though because of the harmful side effects, such as weight gain, liver tumors, jaundice, fluid retention and high blood pressure.